Guards sue over S.F. Federal Building security

SAN FRANCISCO

Published 4:00 am, Friday, June 12, 2009

Security officers at the federal courthouse in San Francisco have used drugs or alcohol on duty, allowed entry to individuals without properly screening them and engaged in romantic liaisons while on the job, according to a lawsuit filed by three guards.

Other violations at the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue have included an intoxicated court security officer "waving his firearm in the air" and another guard having assault weapons delivered to the courthouse for his personal use, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court against Akal Security and one of its supervisors.

The plaintiffs, all veterans of Bay Area police departments, say they complained about the security breaches to Akal but were retaliated against and treated as "snitches." The suit alleges negligence, hostile environment and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment.

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Akal contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service to protect federal courthouses in 40 states and also provides security for various government agencies and military installations, the suit said. The company prides itself on its quality, training and compliance, according to its Web site.

The suit was filed last Friday by Lydia Miller, Wes Hester and Miguel De Luna. Miller, a former Pittsburg police officer, and Hester, a retired Berkeley police lieutenant, are still working with Akal. De Luna, who previously worked as a Contra Costa County sheriff's deputy, said he was wrongly fired by Akal and is seeking reinstatement.

Miller said she witnessed a court security officer "conducting a romantic relationship with a federal judge's clerk" in 2008. Miller was then falsely accused of "altering the time clock to falsify her reporting time" and subjected to remarks like, "We have a rat, and it's not the animal kind," the suit said.

Hester reported seeing a security officer acting under the influence of alcohol or drugs on two occasions this year, the suit said. A supervisor, Joseph Readman, subjected Hester to "multiple contrived 'investigative interviews,' " and Hester was suspended for 10 days, said the suit, which seeks unspecified damages and also names Readman as a defendant.

De Luna said he witnessed security officers buying pirated DVDs and also saw a security officer romancing a clerk, whose husband was an ex-police officer, the suit said. "There is a long tradition among law-enforcement officers to refrain from engaging in romantic relationships with the wife of another officer," the complaint said.

In 2007, a security officer allowed an off-duty guard and another person to enter the building without passing through the metal detector where De Luna was stationed, the suit said. Another guard told De Luna not to report the incident because it could lead to "adverse consequences," the suit said.

De Luna was suspended for 10 days after security cameras captured the breach, the complaint said. After reporting other violations, a security officer allegedly confronted De Luna, removed his gun from his holster and waved it "menacingly" at him. The guard reportedly told De Luna, "Someone needs to wrap a bar of soap in a towel and have a party with you."

Readman later fired De Luna, the suit said.

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